Are you a splurger or saver at Disney?

DisneyKoyote

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Going to Disney in a couple of weeks for the 1st time and have my budget ready- but have been wondering how other Disney goers usually spend their money. Do you guys usually try to make it cheap or just have fun and splurge? Or half/half by splurging in certain areas? How much do you guys typically spend on an entire trip (from airfare to food to souvenirs, etc)?

My estimated expenses for the entire trip (6 days 5 nights @ moderate resort, 2 people) is expected to be ~$5k. But this includes a V&A dinner and no flight.
 
For our upcoming trip we're splurging since it'll be just two adults. Although I truly think my boyfriend is just a deluxe snob since all we've stayed in are the value resorts. I save every day in life so I think I view my vacation as a chance to let go and splurge a little.

I do tend to save when it comes to food though! I'm not a big eater so I always order QS kid meals lol.
 
I'm down the middle. I can't afford what I would consider a true, across the board splurge (deluxe resort, high end table service every day, multiple event tickets, etc.), so I base my splurges on what's currently a priority and on how much money I have available for a given trip (I set aside some from every paycheck, so it's a matter of calculating how much will be in that budget line at the time of the trip). Usually it's the resort that gets de-prioritized in my budget; I like to stay onsite but I have a hard time justifying the cost of anything above a value when I tend not to spend a lot of time at the resort.

I'm currently looking at about $4,200 for one person on a 7 night/6.5 day trip, which does include airfare I ended up paying out of pocket ($4400 if I decide I'm going to spring for a lightsaber). For 2021 I'm looking at around $4900 for two people for the same length of stay, again including airfare and that time also including my marathon entry fee. The 2021 shared trip is projected to be much more frugal since it's not just my own finances involved, but if I can get one or both airline tickets on miles that'll loosen things up and let us look at some add-ons. I'm basically doing all the more expensive stuff on my own this time, like an AH event and the Wild Africa Trek at AK.
 


I tend to splurge on vacation...I don’t normally stay deluxe...though I have...I prefer value for bus services but mostly stay at moderate resorts...but otherwise, I set my budget and don’t worry about it...
 
I do both. I don't tend to eat much or buy things- but after about 2 days of frugality, I'll have a nice dinner or buy something special. It has to be "worth" it to me. Most things just aren't on my radar for things I want or need, so I tend to be frugal most of the time.
 
When I go by myself, I will splurge on staying longer and camp at Fort Wilderness. I stayed almost 2 weeks this past August when there was a decent "room" discount for annual passholders. I can fly round-trip for under $150 including luggage...food, palatial tent, extension cord to keep my electronics powered in my tent, lounge chair, etc. I hardly buy any food because most packaged food in the gift stores and carts is junk food and Disney has a policy that CMs are not generally allowed to bring QS food or drink to a table even for disabled guests (crutch user, solo traveler, inept at balancing a tray of food and drink on my head while crutching around). Sit-down meals are just way too big for me to eat an adult portion. I splurge a bit on souvenirs...I own 4 pairs of ears now and probably 6 or 7 mugs, plus collecting and trading pins. My favorite souvenirs are things like a plastic bulb cover from a MSEP float, bits of the paper fireworks casings from shows over the years, a coin from a bus driver that says "I was caught being good".

I've also splurged a few times and visited during Christmas and New Year's. The room prices are insane but the I love the special holiday fireworks, free Christmas parades, local carolers who sing at the deluxe resorts, and general holiday atmosphere. Splitting the cost with other adults brings the room cost down, though I tend to spend a lot more on food since they enjoy the restaurants.

Back when my legs worked properly, I would fly for under $100 with just a carry-on backpack for a quick RunDisney trip and combine staying in the cheapest value and sleeping at the airport. Disney races are expensive, but worth it and a great value IMO.
 


We do a bit of both... we set a budget and stick to it, but the budget is set to allow for splurging. I would say the biggest things we splurge on are food and souvenirs. We try to plan for more “excessive” spending so that we can really enjoy ourselves without worrying “can we afford this??”
 
I usually end up getting carried away and splurging more than I meant to! Once I start spending $5k on vacation, I ask myself “well, what’s $100 more dollars in the grand scheme of the trip budget?” and it goes from there...

I don’t mind spending money on things that are quality, like experiences or even a great location deluxe hotel, but I think all the food at Disney is pretty much terrible. (I’m sure V&A is the exception, it’s on m my bucket list!!!) Of all the TS / signature TS restaurants we’ve been to, I’ve never had a great meal. So I do try to save $ on food, although I don’t mind paying for fun TS experiences. When we were at CRT, my pork loin was all fat and it was disgusting. But my kids loved the experience of eating in the castle so much that I’m sure we’ll go back.

I was looking up the cost of VIP tours, just out of interest, and wondering if I would ever justify spending over $1k per person in a day... that might be over my limit!
 
I splurge on certain things, but mostly I am a saver. I may plan one expensive meal or something, but usually I try to keep it reasonable. I like to maximize the value.
 
I was looking up the cost of VIP tours, just out of interest, and wondering if I would ever justify spending over $1k per person in a day... that might be over my limit!
Omg yes I looked up the VIP tours too...I don't think I can ever justify it either. I could do so much other stuff with $1k! Maybe once I get to multimillionaire status I can drop that much without batting an eye
 
I splurge on the things that make me happy (booze, mugs, food). We don't do signature restaurants all the time or anything like that, I just try not to pay attention to meal costs when deciding what I want most. I may bring some snacks, but I will not cook on vacation so all meals are restaurant meals. We always get park hoppers for every day of our trips.

We stay value most of the time, occasionally moderate. We're almost never in the hotel room outside of sleeping, so it would physically pain me to pay deluxe prices. We don't do parties or special ticketed events. We use Disney transportation.
 
I'm firmly in the 'splurge' category. This is my first trip in 29 years, first as an adult. Who knows if it will be a regular thing? Maybe...
I want to experience everything, so I'm reserving several expensive dining spots, all the Galaxy's Edge stuff, etc.
That said, since I've never been to a resort before I went with a cheaper option in Pop Century. Traveling solo it become very hard to justify paying more for a fancier room when every option is more than enough space. If I want to come back to Disney World in a few years, I have the more expensive resorts as an option to entice myself back.
Jeez I'm so excited.
 
I splurge on the things that matter to me. When I’m solo I tend to go budget on the hotel and most dining and splurge on things like EMM And adult beverages in the parks.

With hotels I usually stay Value or offsite. I’ve learned how to navigate the public transit which means I can stay offsite and still thoroughly enjoy events like Food and Wine.

I’m a fan of brownbagging but my lunches are never PB&J. I pack charcuterie or salads or good sandwiches made with high quality ingredients prepared just the way I like them.

I travel to WDW from Louisiana solo 4-5 times a year and watching the pennies enables me to afford this. When I go with family the hotels are nicer and the eating out skyrockets.
 
I splurge on the things that matter to me. When I’m solo I tend to go budget on the hotel and most dining and splurge on things like EMM And adult beverages in the parks.

With hotels I usually stay Value or offsite. I’ve learned how to navigate the public transit which means I can stay offsite and still thoroughly enjoy events like Food and Wine.

I’m a fan of brownbagging but my lunches are never PB&J. I pack charcuterie or salads or good sandwiches made with high quality ingredients prepared just the way I like them.
Don’t be knocking PB&J! :)
 
Don’t be knocking PB&J! :)
I get an unbelievable amount of grief from the Disney web-o-sphere for carrying a lunch Including, “I’d rather stay at home (go to the dentist,clean port-a-potties at Jazz Fest, pick something truly awful) than lug a peanut butter sandwich around Disney.” I tend to get a little defensive :-)
 
I get an unbelievable amount of grief from the Disney web-o-sphere for carrying a lunch Including, “I’d rather stay at home (go to the dentist,clean port-a-potties at Jazz Fest, pick something truly awful) than lug a peanut butter sandwich around Disney.” I tend to get a little defensive :-)
I guess I got defensive about my beloved PB&J. So it’s all good.

But I must go on record here to say that those bullies you gave you grief are just Loser Trolls!
 
My splurges tend to be on either food or park tickets. Sometimes I will pay the extra fee to do a park hopper ticket or an extra event like early morning magic or after hours. I will usually find a signature restaurant for a nice meal. I tend to go go go when I’m at Disney so I’m usually in a value resort or recently it’s been the Disney Springs area hotels.
 

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